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Timeline (unofficial)
This page provides an overview of important events in Warcraft history. All year numbers are in relation to the time of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. For the full story, see the official History of Azeroth or History of Warcraft. Spoiler Info: Anything that is an important storytelling element from any of the games, books, or comics will be blanked out, requiring you to select the text with your mouse by clicking and dragging around the hidden text. This is done to protect people who have not yet played/read those items from reading something that could spoil their enjoyment of the game/book/comic. * Example: {test text} The Beginning * The universe is created. No one knows exactly how. * The Titans appear, and begin shaping the new worlds of the universe as part of a master plan to create order from chaos. ** The Titans are under constant threat from demonic forces in the Twisting Nether that want to undo their works and devour the energies of the living universe. ** The Titans elect their greatest warrior, Sargeras, to eliminate the demonic threat. * Sargeras encounters the Nathrezim, among other evil races. He defeats and imprisons them with ease, but their corruption causes Sargeras to slip into a deep depression. Eventually, he loses faith in his mission and the Titans' goal of bringing order to the universe, causing him to leave them. * Sargeras' growing madness causes him to turn against the Titans and he vows to undo all that they have created, convincing himself that the entire living universe must be destroyed. * Sargeras encounters the Eredar, and tempts them to join him in his evil scheme. Some of the Eredar join him, while others remain uncorrupted and succeed in fleeing to a faraway world, which they name Draenor, with the help of the Naaru. These uncorrupted Eredar now call themselves the draenei. {Please note there is some confusion about the history of the draenei -- this page uses the currently accepted version according to World of Warcraft; see Metzen_on_Lore.} * Sargeras, now known as the Fallen Titan, appoints two of the corrupted Eredar -- Kil'jaeden the Deceiver and Archimonde the Defiler -- to command his new demonic army, the Burning Legion. * Sargeras frees the Nathrezim, convinced that he had been wrong to imprison them earlier. ** Kil'jaeden enslaves the Nathrezim and their leader, Tichondrius the Darkener, to be his behind-the-scenes corrupting agents throughout the universe. * Archimonde enlists the pit lord race and their leader Mannoroth the Destructor to be his elite destroyers. The Burning Legion grows swiftly as Sargeras begins his assault on the universe. The Shaping of Azeroth * The Titans come across the barren world of Azeroth, and set out to shape it to their specifications. * The Titans battle the evil Old Gods who had previously reigned over Azeroth, and their elemental lieutenants, including Ragnaros the Firelord. ** One Old God is killed in Darkshore, where his remains are still visible, while three are imprisoned deep below the surface of Azeroth. The fifth, C'Thun, is defeated in the deserts of Silithus, but not slain. ** The elemental lieutenants are imprisoned in the Elemental Plane. * The Titans create the Earthen, Mountain Giants, and Sea Giants to help shape Azeroth into a thriving world. * The Titans construct the Well of Eternity, a fountain of power and life from which plants and creatures soon begin to appear. ** The Silithid emerge from the Well of Eternity. These powerful insects attract the attention of the forgotten Old God C'Thun. * The Titans name the sole continent they have crafted Kalimdor, which means "land of eternal starlight." * With the Old Gods defeated and the elementals shackled, the Titans bestow some of their powers upon the leaders of the five major dragonflights, and charge them with protecting Azeroth. Those dragons would be known as the Aspects. * The Earthen, done with the duty they were created for, go into hibernation for many centuries. * The Titans move on to shape and organize other worlds. The First Civilizations * The trolls establish themselves as the first civilized race on Azeroth, crafting the mighty Amani and Gurubashi empires. * The tauren and furbolgs appear for the first time, living in nomadic tribes in western Kalimdor. * The Old God C'Thun creates an insectoid-humanoid race in the image of the Silithid, calling them the Aqir. ** The Aqir establish a third empire to rival that of the trolls, and proceed to conquer much of southwestern Kalimdor. ** The Amani and Gurubashi reluctantly ally to battle the Aqir. They wage war for thousands of years, and the Aqir are ultimately defeated. ** The Aqir empire breaks apart, with some forming the northern city-state of Azjol-Nerub, and others forming the southern city-state of Ahn'Qiraj. ** The Aqir in northern Kalimdor evolve into the spider-like Nerubians. The Aqir in the south, meanwhile, evolve into the insectoid Qiraji. * Primitive humanoids (indicated to be a wayward tribe of trolls) venture into central Kalimdor and discover the Well of Eternity. Infused with powerful magic, they become the first night elves. * The night elves battle with the trolls. Arcane magic gives the elves an advantage over the superstitious trolls, who refuse to wield the volatile power. ** The night elves succeed where the Aqir failed: they shatter the mighty troll empires. * The night elves found the Kaldorei empire, the mightiest dominion ever to have existed on Azeroth. * The Nerubians live a quiet existence, for fear of retribution from the Kaldorei. * The Qiraji, driven by the evil C'Thun, amass a massive army of Silithid and magical contructs, overrunning the southern province of Silithus. The War of the Shifting Sands begins. ** The night elves, led by Fandral Staghelm, put up a valiant effort, but are outnumbered by the Qiraji and their brilliant twin emperors, Vek'lor and Vek'nilash. ** Valstann Staghelm, Fandral's son, is murdered by the Qiraji General Rajaxx. The night elves falter, and are pushed back to the jungles of Un'Goro. ** The night elves seek out the aid of the bronze dragonflight, which is initially refused. The bronze dragons are quick to offer their aid, however, once the brazen Qiraji attack the sacred Caverns of Time. ** The bronze dragon Anachronos, heir of Nozdormu, convinces members of the red, green, and blue dragonflights to aid the bronze dragons and the night elves. ** Faced with the might of the dragons and night elves, the Qiraji are beaten back to the gates of their mighty city, Ahn'Qiraj. However, the Qiraji will not give in further. ** The dragons discover a terrifying evil (likely C'Thun) while battling the flying Qiraji above Ahn'Qiraj. ** The dragons and night elves opt to trap the Qiraji in their own city, erecting the mighty Scarab Wall that will contain the insectoid creatures for more than 10,000 years. War of the Ancients/First Burning Legion Invasion - 10,000 Years Before the First War * See the War of the Ancients Trilogy book series. * Sargeras tempts the leaders of the great night elf capital city Zin-Azshari with the promise of a better world, promising that he and his army can cleanse Azeroth of everything unfit. ** Queen Azshara, along with her chief counselor, Xavius, and the elite class of the night elves known as the Highborne, worship Sargeras like a god, not seeing the evil in his motives. ** Their communications with Sargeras are kept secret from the night elf populace. ** Using the power of the Well of Eternity, the Highborne create a portal through which Sargeras sends large numbers of demons from the ranks of the Burning Legion. ** The Burning Legion attacks and destroys all of Zin-Azshari (with the exception of the royal palace), murders thousands of night elves, and destroys everything in its path. ** With the efforts of the dragonflights, the night elf brothers Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage, and the priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, the Burning Legion's invading army is eventually defeated. Nevertheless, much of the formerly beautiful Kaldorei empire is destroyed. *Illidan is unable to deal with the loss of his coveted magic and thusly pours water from the Well of Eternity into several specially crafted vials. * The portal to the Twisting Nether is destroyed before Sargeras himself can enter Azeroth, but the Well of Eternity also explodes in a cataclysmic event known as the Great Sundering. * The continent of Kalimdor is shattered into three smaller continents: the remnants of Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms (which contains the subcontinents Lordaeron and Azeroth), and Northrend. * The former site of the Well of Eternity becomes a swirling vortex of power, known as the Maelstrom, in the ocean between the continents. ** The city of Zin-Azshari slides beneath the waters of the Maelstrom. Queen Azshara and most of her loyal Highborne survive and are transformed into naga; it is theorised that the Night Elves, having already mutated from the Trolls, are further mutated into the naga. Others simply say the Old Gods had a hand in it, though have yet to supply a reason why they would do so. The 10,000 Years Between the War of the Ancients and the First War * The night elves, horrified by the Sundering caused by their abuse of magic, swear off the arcane for all eternity. The majority of them remain on the western continent, which retains the name Kalimdor. **Illidan creates a new Well of Eternity with the water he had stolen. His brother Malfurion is furious and locks Illidan in an underground prison. **The dragons bless the night elves for their devotion to nature and help them create Nordrassil, the World Tree, which will be a source of power and immortality for the elves. ** The night elves who refuse to give up their magic (mostly Highborne that denounced the Burning Legion but not magic itself) are banished from Kalimdor. They sail across the sea to the east. * The Nerubians, left to their own devices on Northrend, quickly expand and become the dominating force in the frozen wastelands. ** The Drakkari ice trolls form a small nation on Northrend, in spite of hostilities from the Nerubians. * The Amani and Gurubashi empires, left in the Eastern Kingdoms, are no longer restricted by the Kaldorei. They begin to rebuild their forgotten empires. Zul'Aman rises in the northern forests of Lordaeron, while Zul'Gurub rises in the southern jungles of Azeroth. ** The Gurubashi begin worshipping the blood god, Hakkar the Soulflayer. * The night elven exiles land in northern Lordaeron, forming the nation of Quel'Thalas. They rename themselves the high elves. * The first human tribes appear in southern Lordaeron. * The Amani, angered at the sudden arrival of the humans and elves, wage a fierce war against both. * The Gurubashi empire splinters once again as civil war breaks out between those loyal to Hakkar and those who see his true evil. * Many of the Earthen awaken from their hibernation and emerge as a mortal race: the dwarves. * The Arathi tribe of humans realises that the Amani are too powerful and that the nomadic human tribes would quickly fall to their might. They embark on a campaign to unite the human tribes. ** The first human nation, Arathor, is formed. * The high elves, on the verge of capitulating to the Amani, offer to teach magic to the humans in exchange for their military support. ** The humans quickly learn the art of magic, and the Amani find themselves under attack from two sides. The Amani fall once again. * Realising that their magic is once again attracting the Burning Legion to Azeroth, the elves and humans create the Guardians of Tirisfal to protect the planet from demonic invasion. * The Gurubashi loyal to Hakkar, known as the Atal'ai, are banished to the Swamp of Sorrows. The Gurubashi empire never recovers from the civil war. * The nation of Arathor fractures into seven smaller kingdoms: Stromgarde, Dalaran, Gilneas, Alterac, Kul Tiras, Lordaeron, and Azeroth. * The Atal'ai build the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, and try to summon their evil god into the world. ** The green dragonflight, made aware of the Atal'ai's plans, attacks the temple, causing it to sink below the swamp. The mighty Eranikus and his flight take control of the ruins in order to prevent the Atal'ai from ever using them again. ** Eranikus enters into a deep sleep, as is normal amongst green dragons, but during this moment of weakness, he is possessed by the Old Gods. * The War of the Three Hammers begins between the dwarves of the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron clans of Khaz Modan in northern Azeroth. ** Fearing defeat, the Dark Iron emperor, Thaurissan, attempts to summon a powerful elemental to aid him. ** Thaurissan inadvertently summons Ragnaros, one of the elemental lieutenants of the Old Gods. The cataclysmic event destroys much of the Redridge Mountains, creating the volcanic wastelands now known as the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes. * The Guardian Aegwynn defeats Sargeras in a titanic battle. However, Sargeras' essence enters her before he dies. ** Unaware of the presence of Sargeras in her, Aegwynn gives birth to her son, Medivh. Sargeras possesses the boy while he is still in his mother's womb. * Kil'jaeden, fascinated by the noble orcs of the planet Draenor, makes a deal with the orc Gul'dan. All orc tribes but the Frostwolf drink the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth, and become infused with a demonic bloodlust. The corrupted orcish tribes join together and train to become a frightful army. ** The orcs test their newfound strength and skills in combat, crushing their peaceful draenei neighbours. Few draenei survive. Warcraft: Orcs and Humans * Under the sway of the Burning Legion, Medivh and Gul'dan open the Dark Portal, allowing the demon-possessed orcs to enter Azeroth. ** The orcs invade, launching a clumsy attack against the kingdom of Azeroth that is repulsed after heavy losses. ** A rift appears between the chieftans Cho'gall and Kilrogg Deadeye over who is to blame for the disaster, and violence between their two clans erupts. ** In order to quell the violence, Gul'dan installs Blackhand the Destroyer as the first Warchief of the Horde. * Medivh's apprentice Khadgar and Lord Anduin Lothar attack the tower of Karazhan and kill Medivh. The psychic shock of Medivh's death throws Gul'dan into a coma. * The half-orc assassin Garona Halforcen murders King Llane Wrynn of Azeroth. * Durotan, chief of the Frostwolf Clan, returns from exile to warn his friend Orgrim Doomhammer about Gul'dan's teachery and secret control of the Horde. He and his wife are subsequently murdered by agents of the Shadow Council, Gul'dan's elite sect, and only his infant son, later named Thrall, survives. ** The orcs ransack and burn Goldshire, Northshire Abbey, and finally Stormwind Keep itself. ** In retaliation for Durotan's death, Doomhammer kills Blackhand and takes the title of Warchief for himself. * Gul'dan awakens from his coma to find the political situation drastically changed. He pledges his life to Doomhammer, all the while secretly planning the new Warchief's destruction. * Lothar manages to gather up the survivors of Azeroth and set sail for Lordaeron, in a long and harrowing journey known as the Exodus. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness - 6 Years After the First War * The survivors of the kingdom of Azeroth reach Lordaeron. ** Lord Lothar of Azeroth and King Terenas of Lordaeron convince the other human kingdoms, as well as the dwarves and high elves, to form the Alliance. * The orcs invade Khaz Modan, conquering every dwarf stronghold with the exception of Ironforge itself. ** The Horde enlists the aid of the Amani forest trolls, led by Zul'jin, as well as the goblins of Undermine. ** Tol Barad, an island city controlled by Stromgarde, is destroyed by the Horde. All life on the island is decimated. Tol Barad would later be liberated by the fleet of Kul Tiras. ** The Dragonmaw Clan captures the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and forces her to produce young dragons to serve the Horde. ** Horde raiders burn the cities of Southshore and Hillsbrad. ** The Horde invades and burns much of Stromgarde. ** Under the direction of Gul'dan, the Horde invades the high elf homeland of Quel'Thalas. They burn much of the elves' forests and Cho'gall captures a number of elven runestones, warping their magic and converting them into a demonic focus known as the Altar of Storms. * On the eve of Doomhammer's planned assault on the capital city of Lordaeron, Gul'dan takes half of the Horde's standing forces and sails south in search of the Tomb of Sargeras. Doomhammer is forced to retreat and chase after the traitors. The Horde splits and falls into a bloody but short civil war. ** During the reprieve, the Alliance regroups. It is discovered that the kingdom of Alterac has been aiding the Horde. Alterac's capital is destroyed. * Doomhammer succeeds in killing Cho'gall, and discovers that Gul'dan is already dead. With his forces in disarray, Doomhammer can not return on the offensive. * The Alliance pushes the Horde out of the northlands and moves south, recapturing much of Khaz Modan and burning the orc oil refineries at the former dwarf stronghold of Grim Batol. ** The Battle of Blackrock Spire takes place. Lord Lothar is killed but ultimately the Alliance triumphs, capturing Orgrim Doomhammer and many other orcs. ** The orcs are pushed back through the Swamp of Sorrows, and into the Blasted Lands, where the Dark Portal is destroyed, cutting the orcs off from reinforcements on Draenor. The remaining orcs surrender. Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal - 8 Years After the First War * The Alliance begins to build orc internment camps south of Lordaeron. * The Alliance helps the weary suvivors of the Azeroth kingdom to rebuild their homeland into a new dominion: Stormwind. * Orc chieftan Ner'zhul rallies the remaining orc clans on Draenor and sets out to create new portals to other unspoiled worlds. ** Ner'zhul reopens the Dark Portal to retrieve artifacts from Azeroth to power his new portals. ** Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye lead the Horde into Azeroth, retrieve the artifacts, and return to Draenor. ** King Terenas orders General Turalyon and Archmage Khadgar to lead an army to Draenor in order to stop the orcs once and for all. ** Ner'zhul opens his portals to other worlds, but the tremendous energies of the portals begin to rip Draenor apart. ** Hellscream and Deadeye rally the remaining orcs and escape through the Dark Portal back into Azeroth. ** Turalyon and Khadgar decide to destroy the Dark Portal on Draenor, trapping them on the dying world but preventing any more orcs from entering Azeroth. * Ner'zhul and the Shadowmoon Clan escape through one of the new portals. ** Kil'jaeden captures Ner'zhul as he passes through the Twisting Nether, ripping him apart piece by piece (keeping his spirit alive) for betraying him. ** Kil'jaeden traps Ner'zhul's spirit in a frozen cask, warping his soul and greatly increasing his power. Ner'zhul becomes the Lich King. * The world of Draenor is severely fractured by the uncontrolled energies of the many portals Ner'zhul opened on Dreanor, forcing the remaining draenei to begin making plans to flee their homeland once again. Others of the draenei had previously fled through a portal to Azeroth, but were altered by the destructive energies at work in their world. As a result, their physical form as well as their behavior reverted to that of a much more primitive species. These smaller, barely recognizeable relatives of the draenei settled in the nearby Swamp of Sorrows and became known as the Broken. 10 Years After the First War * The rogue wizard Kel'Thuzad founds the Scholomance, a school of necromancy built in the crypts beneath the old human fortress of Caer Darrow, and begins work on a Plague of Undeath that he hopes will consume much of the Eastern Kingdoms. ** Kel'Thuzad forms the Cult of the Damned. * The mage Rhonin, assisted by high elf ranger Vereesa and dragonmage Krasus, free the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza from the orc warlock who had imprisoned her for over five years. ** See the Day of the Dragon book. 18 Years After the First War * Doomhammer is killed helping Thrall free his fellow orcs from human internment camps. ** Thrall becomes the new Warchief of the Horde. ** See the Lord of the Clans book. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos - 21 Years After the First War * Under the guidance of a mysterious prophet, Thrall and the Horde set sail for Kalimdor. * Kel'Thuzad and the Cult of the Damned release their Plague of Undeath upon Lordaeron. ** Prince Arthas, son of King Terenas, with the help of Lord Uther Lightbringer and Jaina Proudmoore, begins his fight against the undead. ** Arthas kills Kel'Thuzad. * The Horde lands on the Broken Islands, encountering the Darkspear tribe of jungle trolls and saving them from an army of murlocs. The trolls join the Horde out of gratitude. * Arthas betrays Uther and slaughters the people of Stratholme, believing them to be infected with the Plague. * Under the guidance of the same prophet, Jaina Proudmoore gathers as much of Lordaeron's populace as she can and sails to Kalimdor. * Arthas travels to Northrend in search of the cursed blade Frostmourne, encountering his old tutor Muradin Bronzebeard there. ** Arthas takes up Frostmourne, which steals his soul and transforms him into a Death Knight under the Lich King's command. The process kills Muradin. ** Arthas returns to Lordaeron and kills his father. He proceeds to destroy the city. ** Under Arthas, the undead army known as the Scourge devastates the countryside of Lordaeron and kills Uther. * Repeated calls for aid to the gnomes in their clockwork city of Gnomeregan go unanswered. Little does the rest of the Alliance know that the gnomes are desperately trying to fight off an underground invasion from a barbaric race of beings called troggs. Knowing that the rest of the Alliance is occupied with the Scourge, the gnomes decide to face the troggs alone. * The Scourge recovers the remains of Kel'Thuzad and travels to Quel'Thalas. Arthas battles with Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner in order to conquer the high elven city of Silvermoon. ** Arthas kills Sylvanas, raising her as an undead banshee. The Scourge burn Silvermoon and claims the Sunwell. **Arthas uses the the Sunwell to raise Kel'Thuzad as a lich, forever twisting and corrupting its waters in the process. * Kel'Thuzad and Arthas raid Dalaran and steal the book of Medivh. They use it to summon Archimonde, who destroys Dalaran as a gesture of his power. Archimonde then turns the Scourge over to the dreadlord Tichondrius and begins summoning the rest of the Burning Legion. * While the Legion devastates Lordaeron, Thrall lands on Kalimdor, encountering and saving a tribe of tauren led by Cairne Bloodhoof. Out of gratitude, Cairne tells Thrall of an oracle in the Stonetalon Mountains. ** Thrall and Grom Hellscream fight through a group of humans. Horrified by Hellscream's bloodlust, Thrall sends the chieftan away to prepare a settlement in Ashenvale. * While cutting lumber, the Warsong Clan is attacked by night elves. Grom gives into his rage and becomes re-enslaved to the demon Mannoroth. With Mannoroth's blood empowering him, Hellscream kills the forestland demigod Cenarius. * Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore discover that the oracle is none other than the prophet, who tells them to unite against the Burning Legion. * The Legion invades Kalimdor, forcing the night elves under Tyrande Whisperwind to awaken the druids. Tyrande also releases Illidan from his prison. ** Illidan goes to Felwood to stop the demonic corruption there. He destroys an item known as the Skull of Gul'dan, absorbing its power. He kills the dreadlord Tichondrius, but is banished by his brother Malfurion for using demonic magic. Battle of Mount Hyjal * The prophet reveals himself to be {spoiler: Medivh}, returned from the dead. Under his guidance, the night elves unite with the Alliance and Horde to stop the Legion. * Malfurion Stormrage masterminds a trap for Archimonde, destroying the World Tree and the night elves' immortality in the process, but also destroying Archimonde himself. After thousands and thousands of deaths, the Legion's invasion is thwarted. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - 21 Years After the First War * Jaina Proudmoore leads the remaining survivors of Lordaeron to an island near Dustwallow Marsh. There she establishes the city of Theramore, the only human outpost on the entire continent of Kalimdor. * The surviving high elves of Quel'Thalas band together under Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, renaming themselves the blood elves in honor of their fallen brethren. Kael'thas is the only surviving member of the Sunstrider dynasty, the bloodline that founded Quel'Thalas, and a powerful mage. As a race, however, the blood elves are wracked with withdrawal from the loss of their magical fountain, the Sunwell. * While wandering as an exile, Illidan Stormrage is approached by Kil'jaeden, who offers him unparalled magical power if he will destroy the demon's wayward servant, the Lich King. ** Illidan makes contact with his ancient allies, the former Highborne who now exist as naga. Together they flee to the Tomb of Sargeras to claim the Dark Titan's eye, all the while pursued by Illidan's former warden Maiev Shadowsong. ** Maiev finds Illidan too late to stop him from claiming the eye. She is forced to call to Ashenvale for aid. Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind sail out to join her, and they pursue Illidan to Lordaeron. ** In Lordaeron, they manage to stop Illidan from using the eye just before his ritual can be completed. Illidan reveals that his goal was to kill the Lich King and destroy the Scourge. The Stormrage brothers put aside their differences and save Tyrande from death at the hands of the Scourge. Illidan later flees to Outland with Maeiv hot on his tail. * After being abandoned and betrayed by the remnants of the Alliance, the blood elves make a pact with Illidan and the naga, escaping to Outland and aiding Illidan first in defeating Maeiv and then in establishing him as ruler of the remains of Draenor. Illidan intends to hide there after his failure, but Kil'jaeden quickly tracks him down. The demon gives Illidan one more chance to succeed. * Arthas returns to Lordaeron, demanding that the Nathrezim dreadlords rescind power of the Scourge back to him. However, he is soon called away to Northrend by the Lich King, who has been imperiled by Illidan's spell. He leaves Kel'Thuzad in charge of the region while he is away. * The weakening of the Lich King allows hundreds of undead to free themselves from his control. Banding together under the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, they systematically hunt down the dreadlords, killing all but Varimathras, whom Sylvanas makes her general. They establish themselves beneath the ruins of Lordaeron's capital city, building the Undercity. * Arthas arrives at Northrend, outmaneuvering the naga, blood elves, and the remnants of Muradin's dwarven expedition. He makes his way to Icecrown Glacier and duels with Illidan at the entrace. After a short, intense battle, he leaves Illidan bleeding to death in the snow and enters. ** Arthas smashes the Frozen Throne and dons the Lich King's armor, thereby fusing his soul and that of Ner'zhul together with the announcement, "Now, we are one." Currently Arthas still remains in Northrend. * The newly established orc nation of Durotar is attacked by a Kul Tiras fleet led by Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina Proudmoore's father. The Horde, with the help of the half-ogre Beastmaster Rexxar, manages to beat back the initial assault. They evacuate the Darkspear trolls, who are in danger of being wiped out by the fleet. ** Under Thrall's orders, Rexxar musters a combined force of trolls, ogres, tauren, and orcs. They attack Theramore, where Admiral Proudmoore has set up his headquarters. After a fierce battle, Admiral Proudmoore is killed. Thrall leaves Jaina Proudmoore to greive over her father, saying, "I hope we never have to return here again." Both sides know, however, that the fragile pact between the Horde and the Alliance is now over. Between 21 and 25 Years After the First War * Cairne Bloodhoof establishes the first permanent tauren city on a series of high mesas. Calling the new city Thunder Bluff, he invites all the other tauren tribes to join him there. Soon, the majority of tauren flock to Thunder Bluff, bringing with them their most sacred totems. Thunder Bluff quickly becomes the spiritual heart of tauren culture. * The gnomes, in a last attempt to drive the troggs from Gnomeregan, unleash a radioactive cloud which floods the city. Not only does this cloud not kill the troggs, it ends up wiping out half of the gnomish race, and rendering Gnomeregan uninhabitable. The ragged remnants of the gnomish race are forced to flee to Ironforge and take refuge with the dwarves. * A rift in time sends the human Archmage Rhonin, dragonmage Krasus, and orc veteran Broxigar back 10,000 years to the start of the First Burning Legion Invasion. * The Forsaken secretly begin working on a new Plague of Undeath. * Malfurion Stormrage mysteriously disappears in the Emerald Dream, leaving Fendral Staghelm to take control of the druids. * Rend Blackhand, son of slain former Warchief Blackhand, begins to build power to take control of the Horde. * Nefarion, son of Deathwing, joins forces with Rend to create the chromatic dragonflight. * The Scourge begins work on their own flight of undead dragons. * Fendral Staghelm leads the night elf druids in creating a new World Tree, called Teldrassil, on an island north of Kalimdor. This time however, nature and the dragons do not extend their blessing, realizing that this New World tree is a selfish attempt by the night elves to regain their immortality. Soon, the magic of the new World Tree begins to fall out of balance. * The Forsaken join forces with the Horde in an effort to protect themselves from the enemies that surround them on all sides. * The Horde occupies the ruins of Tarren Mill and Hammerfall, and begins constructing several forward bases throughout southern Azeroth and Ashenvale. * The night elves, still bitter over the death of Cenarius at the hands of an orc and enraged at the continued presence of Horde lumbermills in Ashenvale, decide to join the Alliance. * The Scarlet Crusade is created by Highlord Mograine, General Abbendis and Inquisitor Issillien. Archimage Timolain forges the Ashbringer sword. Renault Mograine, son of the Highlord, betrays his father and makes a pact with Kel'Thuzad. * The spirit of Balnazzar, defeated brother of the dreadlord Varimathras, possesses the body of the paladin Saiden Dathrohan, and corrupts the Scarlet Crusade. World of Warcraft - 25 Years After the First War * Despite a number of domestic crises, hostilities once again break out between the Horde and the Alliance. ** A series of running skirmishes between the Warsong Clan and the Silverwing Sentinels begins in Ashenvale. * Conflict over control of the resource-rich Arathi Basin erupts between the human League of Arathor and the Forsaken Defilers. Both sides begin petitioning their allies for reinforcements. * A long, drawn-out battle of attrition begins between the two sides as to who will control the strategic Alterac Mountains. * The Dark Iron dwarves renew their attempts to summon Ragnaros the Firelord to Azeroth in order to help combat the black dragonflight. * Lady Prestor, formerly an advisor to the king of Stormwind, is exposed as Onyxia and retreats to her lair in Dustwallow Marsh. * Nefarian unleashes the chromatic dragonflight from his perch atop Blackrock Spire. * C'Thun begins renewing the War of the Shifting Sands by pushing the Silithid on the attack. ** The night elves decide to end the threat of C'Thun forever by uniting the Horde and the Alliance for war and reforming the Scepter of the Shifting Sands. ** The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj are reopened by a lone hero, using the Scepter, with the allied forces of the Horde and Alliance standing behind him, and a massive battle is fought between the mortal races (aided by the bronze dragonflight) and the invading Aqir and their magical obsidian constructs. ** The Aqir are driven back behind the Scarab Wall and are now on the defensive. * The lich Kel'Thuzad launches a massive Scourge invasion from his floating Necropolis, once hidden in the black smoke above Stratholme. ** The mortal races drive back the invading Scourge army, and have begun to assault Kel'Thuzad's floating fortress of Naxxramas. * The blood elves of Quel'Thalas learn of Prince Kael'thas' whereabouts and join the Horde in hopes of reuniting with their leader. * The Exodar, a dimensional ship built using Naaru technology, crashes into the world of Azeroth from the Twisting Nether onto an island off the western coast of Kalimdor. This transport is none other than the vessel used by the draenai to flee their nearly annihilated homeland of Draenor. The draenei settle on this island, begin rebuilding their civilization, and join forces with the Alliance, who share their affinity for magic and their worship of the Holy Light. * Rumors of the other mortal leaders' interest in actively exploring the region of Outland are everywhere, and talk of reopening the Dark Portal is spreading though the populace. See the official Blizzard "History of Warcraft" website for further info. Return to Lore page. Lore